Turkey's
Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation (Makina ve Kimya Endüstrisi
Kurumu - MKEK) presents its new national infantry rifle MPT-76 at the
International Defense Industry Equipment Exhibition MSPO 2014 which is
held in Kielce (Poland) from the 1 to 4 September 2014. A first batch
of 200 MPT-76 was delivered in May 2014 to the Turkish army for for testing
and evaluation.

MKEK MPT-76 infantry rifle at MSPO 2014

The
new 7.62 mm chambered rifle is intended to become the Turkish Armed Forces'
new standard infantry weapon, and has been developed under contract from
the Turkish Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (Savunma Sanayii Müstesarligi
- SSM) for the Turkish Army, which favours the 7.62 mm NATO round over
the smaller 5.56 mm round.

MKEK MPT-76 is a modular rifle designed by Kalekalip and produced by MKEK
to meet the demands of the Turkish Armed Forces and to replace its aging
Heckler & Koch G3 battle rifles. After the first prototype was built
in 2008 as an assault rifle firing 5.56×45mm NATO the rifle received
negative feedback from Turkish soldiers testing it who reported that they
preferred the 7.62×51mm NATO round which has far greater knockdown
power and range.

The MPT-76 has
a composite magazine made of polycarbonate material with 20-rounds capacity
and high resistance. Thanks to the 7.62 mm round, its effective range
reachs 600 m and the muzzle velocity 800 m/s. The rifle is equipped with
telescoping, adjustable shoulder stock.

MPT-76's
front sight is mounted on the gas block and features folding base. Integral
Picatinny rail on top of the receiver can hosts aperture-type rear sight
(fully adjustable for range and windage), as well as quick-detachable
carrying handle with “see-through” channel for standard iron
sights plus its own set of iron sights for short-range applications (with
U-shaped notch rear sight), built into the top of the handle. Carrying
handle can be easily replaced with any type of red-dot, telescope or night
sight with appropriate mountings. Additional Picatinny rails on the forend
permit mounting of various accessories. A knife-bayonet may be attached
for the barrel, if required.